Sarah Lohman
I’m an open-minded, accepting, and compassionate therapist who believes you deserve to feel heard, respected, and understood. I take a client-centered approach, meeting you where you are and working together to understand what you need and where you want to go. My style is warm, genuine, and often includes a little humor—because therapy doesn’t always have to feel heavy or intimidating. I work with clients navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, life transitions, relationships, self-esteem, and the many challenges that come with simply being human. I believe you are the expert on your own life, and my role is to help you better understand yourself, build on your strengths, work through what’s getting in your way, and develop tools that actually fit your life.
First session
Your first session is really about getting to know each other and figuring out what brings you to therapy. We’ll talk about what’s been going on, what you’re hoping to get out of therapy, and what you need and want from the process. Just as importantly, it’s a chance for you to get a feel for me and decide whether I’m the right fit for you—therapy works best when you feel comfortable with and connected to your therapist. Whether we’re working together individually or as a couple, we’ll start where you are and talk about what you’d like to be different moving forward. You don’t need to have everything figured out before we meet; we can figure it out together.
Strengths
One of the strengths I bring to therapy is the experience I’ve gained from working with people from many different backgrounds and through a wide range of challenges. I don’t believe you have to have lived the exact same experience as someone to understand and support them. I bring curiosity, empathy, and an open mind to each person and their story. I’m also someone who will gently challenge you when I think it could be helpful. Sometimes that means asking a question you haven’t considered, helping you look at something from a different perspective, or encouraging you to dig a little deeper. I try to do that with compassion and without judgment, while making sure you still feel like you’re in the driver’s seat of your own therapy.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is someone who wants to be an active part of their therapy and recognizes that they are the expert on their own life and experiences. My role is to walk alongside you, help you make sense of what you’re experiencing, and offer support, perspective, and tools along the way. I especially enjoy working with people who are going through a life transition while still trying to navigate things from their past. Sometimes we’re trying to move forward while old experiences, patterns, or beliefs are still coming along for the ride. Therapy can be a place to understand those pieces, decide what you want to carry forward, and figure out what you’re ready to leave behind.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT can look at what’s happening in your life right now and help you identify patterns between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Together, we might look at a difficult situation, explore the thoughts or beliefs that came up, consider whether there are other ways of looking at it, and practice responding differently. This might include things like challenging unhelpful thoughts, trying new behaviors, or practicing skills between sessions.
EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) helps the brain process difficult or traumatic experiences that may still feel emotionally “stuck.” In practice, we identify experiences that are still affecting you, explore the thoughts, feelings, and body sensations connected to them, and then use bilateral stimulation—such as guided eye movements or tapping—to help your brain reprocess those experiences. The goal isn’t to erase what happened, but to help it feel less overwhelming and reduce the impact it has on your life today.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT focuses on helping you better understand and manage difficult emotions while building healthier ways of responding to challenges. In practice, we might work on skills for regulating emotions, tolerating distress, communicating more effectively, and staying present in difficult moments. It’s about learning practical tools you can use in everyday life while also working toward greater acceptance and meaningful change.
Gottman method
The Gottman Method is a couples therapy approach that focuses on strengthening communication, connection, and friendship within a relationship. In practice, we look at patterns between partners, how conflict is handled, and what may be getting in the way of feeling understood and connected. We work on practical skills for communicating needs, managing disagreements, rebuilding trust, and creating a stronger relationship together.
Location
Virtual sessions